Istanbul
travel guides

Istanbul is the only city in the world that straddles two continents, with the Bosphorus strait dividing its European and Asian halves. For over 1,600 years it served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires, and that layered history is visible everywhere - from the 6th-century Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque to the sprawling Topkapi Palace and the underground Basilica Cistern. Modern Istanbul is a metropolis of 16 million people with a booming food scene, rooftop bars overlooking the strait, and a street energy that runs from dawn to well past midnight.